Normal (Benign)
These palpitations occur as a response to physical or mental stress like exercise, fever, pain, fear, anxiety etc.
They are harmless and settle on their own once the precipitating factors disappear. They do not require any medical treatment.

Abnormal
These palpitations occur due to some underlying abnormality in either the structure of heart or the beating of heart.
These can be dangerous and at times life threatening. They may or may not settle on their own and require some medical treatment.

Warning signs that suggest palpitations are abnormal?
Palpitations are abnormal if they are associated with chest heaviness, chest pain, uneasiness, sweating, weakness, giddiness, feeling of black out, fainting, nausea, vomiting, seizures.
Palpitations are more likely to be abnormal In people who have some existing heart disease and these patients should report to their doctor at the earliest.

What to do during palpitations?Call for help. (If u are alone avoid driving, use a taxi or auto) Go to your nearest hospital/doctor and try to get an ECG during the palpitations. If you are helping someone having palpitations, if they faint, call for help, start CPR if they remain unresponsive and take them to the nearest hospita

Which doctor can treat palpitations?
Doctors who specialise in the treatment of palpitations are called Electrophysiologists.
They specialise in heart rhythm and are capable of performing a variety of complex tests to identify and treat different types of palpitations.

Which investigations are used to diagnose palpitations?ECG - Taken during palpitations and when the patient is normal is a very helpful tool. Holter - Externally applied recorder which continuously records heart rhythm for 24 hrs. ELR - Extended looper recorder, is like holter, but it records rhythm for longer durations. ILR - Internal loop recorde is attached within the body for recording rhythm for long duration. EPS - Electrophysiology study, is the most sure shot test to diagnose, identify and treat
palpitations.

What is EPS?
EPS stands for Electrophysiology study. By this test a trained electro-physiologist studies the conduction and formation system of heart beat, to understand the source, cause and type of palpitation.
It is a simple and safe procedure of 2-3 hours and can be done as a day care procedure (by admitting the patient for a few hours in hospital, with discharge on same day).
It requires fasting for 4 hrs, some standard blood investigations and is done with local anaesthesia and if required it can be combined with treatment like ablation in the same sitting.

In the procedure electro-physiologist take catheters into your heart to study and stimulate the palpitations and understand them. Once found they can use various techniques to stop the palpitations, the techniques are called Ablation.

What are the treatment options available for palpitations?
There are many options depending upon the nature of palpitations and condition of the patient - Drug therapy Cardioversion - where either a drug or electric shock is given to stop palpitations immediately.

Ablations using many sophisticated computer softwares

Device Therapy like ICD (Internal cardiac defibrillator)

Combination of all the above therapies.

Your Electrophysiologist and you as a team can make a choice about the options that will be best for you.

1) For obesity the only way is to reduce your weight by eating a healthy diet and exercising to burn out calories you are eating. Take a detailed diet consult for a diet plan to reduce weight. Start exercising begin gradually and increase to 40 mins per day. 2) For chest pain please get a ECG, chest X-Ray and Echo done and consult a local cardiologist. 3) For recurrent cold consult an ENT.

A heart attack is caused if the blood flow to the heart is obstructed. The disruption in the flow of blood destroys a part of the heart muscle and may prove to be fatal if not treated right on time.

Not every heart attack starts with a sudden crushing pain in the chest. In fact, about 30 per cent of the cases haven’t yielded any such symptom. However, the signs may vary from one person to another:

Heart attack might start slowly causing only mild discomfort or pain initially. The symptoms happen to be sudden and intense, persisting for several hours.

Mostly heart attack induces pain on the left side or the center of the chest. The discomfort generally persists for a few minutes. It can even result in a feeling of indigestion or heart burn, fullness, squeezing and pressure which can turn from mild to severe.

One might also experience an aching sensation in the upper stomach, jaw, neck, shoulders, back or both of the arms.

How can you tell a heart attack from a mere panic attack?
Panic attack occurs even more suddenly and induces intense fear, extracting extreme reactions for something relatively harmless. Once the attack subsides, one usually feels week on the knees and tender near the gut. Some of the symptoms exclusive to a panic attack include a feeling of detachment, numbness, hot flashes, chills and tightness experienced in and around the throat, tremors (primarily of the hands) and a constant fear of losing control or of an impending danger.

Although many indications of a heart attack might happen to overlap with those of a panic attack, there are still a few noteworthy differences between the two. Watch out for those signs and get yourself diagnosed properly.

We're all guilty of making fun of snorers but sometimes this snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing is not continuous and may start and stop many times while asleep. This affects the quality of your sleep and in turn can affect many aspects of your health including your cardiovascular health. Here's how:

High Blood Pressure
When a sleep apnea patient's breathing stops, the oxygen levels in the blood also suddenly fall. This can increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure means that the heart muscles need to work harder to pump blood through the body.

Cardiomyopathy
As a result of high blood pressure, the heart walls may become thicker and the heart muscles become stiffer. This is known as cardioyopathy. As this condition worsens, the heart becomes weaker and is unable to maintain a regular rhythm. This can eventually lead to heart failure.

Arrhythmia
An irregular heartbeat is also known as arrhythmia. This may also be related to the changes in the heart's structure that follow the drop in blood oxygen levels. In many cases, arrhythmia has no visible symptoms and can often go undiagnosed. This can result in the formation of blood clots in the atria which can lead to a stroke.

Sleep apnea is easy to diagnose. If the doctor feels that you show symptoms of sleep apnea, you may be asked to stay on the hospital overnight and undergo a sleep evaluation. This tests a variety of body functions including brain activity, eye movements, heart rate, breathing patterns and blood oxygen levels.

Treatment for sleep apnea depends on the causes for this condition. If you are overweight, regular exercise and a change in diet can help you lose the excess weight and cure sleep apnea. Similarly, if your sleep apnea is triggered by an allergy, treating the allergy can help cure the sleep apnea. Other forms of treatment for sleep apnea may include:

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
This is a machine which pumps air into the body through a nasal mask. By keeping the pressure in the machine higher than normal air pressure the upper airway passages are kept open and hence the quality of your sleep is improved. An auto CPAP machine can modulate the air pressure such that it is higher when you inhale and lower when you exhale.;

Oral devices
Your doctor may suggest oral devices that allow you to keep your mouth open while you sleep. This is easier to use than CPAP machine but less effective.

Surgery is the last resort when it comes to treatment for sleep apnea. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Cardiologist.

Dear Mr. lybrate-user,
Any medicine that is prescribed by doctor must not be continued on your own, it may cause long term side effect. Kindly follow your treating doctor's advice, he will help you better.

Angina or angina pectoris is the pain, discomfort or tightness in the chest that occurs when the blood flow to the heart muscle cells is not enough to meet its energy needs. It is not a disease itself but rather a symptom of the coronary heart disease.

What are the different types of angina?

1. Stable angina: It is the commonest form of angina. It can be triggered by stress or physical activity and usually only lasts a few minutes.

2. Unstable angina: It happens when you're resting or aren't very active. The pain is strong and long lasting, and may keep recurring. It may be a signal of an impending heart attack.

3. Variant angina: This might take place when you're asleep or at rest. This sudden tightening or narrowing of the heart's arteries causes a lot of pain.

How u know what your are experiencing is an angina pain?

You might be having angina pain if you suffer from one or more of these symptoms:

If previously advised by a certified doctor, patients can take antiplatelet medicines which are blood thinners and prevent unstable angina. Final treatments include angioplasty (repair of a blocked blood vessel through surgery), insertion of a coronary artery stent (a tube that is used to treat weakened arteries) or a heart bypass surgery for serious complications.

For your parents help you have to consult a homeopath and for you as you said you want to be healthy so for that you have to eat well, do regular exercise so that you should not graps in such conditions in which your parents are. U can also take help of homeopathic medicine if so then consult.

Sudden cardiac death occurs when your heart stops functioning unexpectedly and suddenly. When this happens if you experience sudden cardiac arrest and blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. Sudden cardiac arrest usually results in death if it is not treated within minutes.

Occurring during a heart attack, the sudden cardiac arrest should not be mistaken for a heart attack. The immediate cause of sudden cardiac arrest is usually an abnormality in your heart rhythm, which is the result of a problem with your heart's electrical system. Your heart has its own electrical stimulator, which is a specialized group of cells called the sinus node located in the upper right chamber of your heart. The sinus node generates electrical impulses that flow in an orderly manner through your heart to synchronize heart rate and coordinate the pumping of blood from your heart to rest of your body.

If something goes wrong with the flow of these electric impulses through your heart, a condition known as arrhythmia occurs, causing your heart to beat too fast or too slow or in an irregular manner. Often these interruptions in rhythm are momentary and harmless. But if it is severe it can lead to a sudden stop in heart function.

Ventricular fibrillation is the most common life threatening arrhythmia which is the uncontrolled twitching or quivering of muscle fibers. It must be treated immediately to save a person's life. It can be treated by delivering a quick electric shock through the chest.

Risk Factors:

There are many risk factors that increase the risk of sudden cardiac death including the history of previous heart attacks, coronary artery disease, smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Cardiologist.

You are correct .The headache may be of different cause. Get her BP cjhecked daily at home and when the headache occurs get an eye Dr. -opthalmologist consultation since diabetics are more prone for glaucoma, cataracts as well as Retinal detachment yearly eye exam with a senior Dr. is needed.
If these are normal get a ENT Dr. consult. Change her diet and lifestyle If you want specific dietary and lifestyle advise for sugar and cholesterol control take a consult.

hello Lybrate user
its not too high to be worried.if your other parameters like lipid profile and sugar are alsothan its quite possible to control it without any medicines. start practicing yoga and meditation. go for morning walk and do some light exercises and surya namaskar. avoid fatty and spicy food, avoid cigratte smoking (if you do). reduce salt from your diet.

Hypertension and high cholesterol are lifestyle diseases which require a lifestyle solution and not chemical cocktail of medicines .Both of them are completely reversible without medicines. Stop all dairy products cut down animal protein
Eat a plant based diet
Do not eat from outside .No processed food
cut down salt and try no oil cooking. Oil has no nutrients It has only empty calories
.Cook your own food for more specific advise take a consult or send afeedback with your contact number and then you can take a consult through Lybrate.

A normal range for blood urea nitrogen is generally 8 to 24 mg/dl for adult males and In adult men, normal range of serum creatinine is 0.9-1.3 mg/dl;
LDL Near Normal is 100-129 mg/dl your very much in control if you can change life style with exercise and plus some good compound having HCA natural component.

Hi. Your symptoms suggest that you are suffering from GERD, ie gastro oesophageal reflux disease. In this, the acid from your stomach regurgitates into the throat. You may try antacids and Omeprazole capsules twice daily. No smoking or alcohol, bland diet. If this does not give relief in about 5 days, do consult an ENT surgeon.

Ever wondered why you needed to share your family’s health history at a doctor’s clinic? Specific questions regarding health issues of your immediate family or close blood relatives give your doctor an insight into various health risks you might have now or in future. Those are medical conditions inherited by parents or grandparents through genes. Genes are passed from parents to children in DNA of eggs or sperms. Even a single mutation (fault) in gene can influence body systems and may lead to disorders. If any of the parents have a faulty gene, there are 50:50 chances of the child inheriting it.

Hereditary heart diseases are also a result of mutation in one or more genes and tend to run in families. Genes control almost all aspects of cardiovascular system including strengthening blood vessels, pumping capacity or communication of cells in the heart. A single genetic variation is enough to alter cardiovascular processes increasing the risk of developing a heart disease, attack or a stroke. Some of the most common hereditary cardiac disorders include; Arrhythmias, congenital heart diseases and cardiomyopathy. A family history of heart attack or stroke is also an established high-risk factor for the family members. High blood cholesterol, medically known as familial hypercholesterolemia also tends to run in families.

Unfortunately, many of these conditions cannot be prevented since they are acquired through genes. But there are many ways in which these could be managed before they become complicated or fatal.

Let’s look at some ways by which we can deal with hereditary heart diseases and increase a patient’s chances of survival:

Early Diagnosis And Treatment: When one person in the family is diagnosed with a heart disease, it is strongly advisable for other family members to go in for screening. An early diagnosis can help in better treatment and management of the disease and impacts positively on patients’ life. Medical screening of siblings is highly recommended in case a person suffers a sudden cardiac death especially at a young age.

Watch out for these symptoms at a young age: Abnormal heart rhythm, asthma that does not get better with inhaler, seizures that do not improve with medication, extreme fatigue or shortness of breath are warning signals and need immediate medical attention.

Genetic Testing: Family members may opt for genetic testing to check if they carried genes of an inherited disorder.

Genetic Counselling: Genetic counselling deals with problems like anxieties and fear of attacks, confusion over disease and emotional difficulties in accepting the situation.

We may not be able to change the family history but we can surely change our environment, lifestyle and habits. Eating healthy and following an active lifestyle does help in prevention and management of such diseases.